Compensating device for steam or like pipings



E. LAUFFER March 9, 1943.

COMPENSATING DEVICE STEAM OR LIKE PIPINGS Filed March 13, 1940 O W TE 5 F N EF R VU m NA T EMILE swwug Patented Mar. 9, 1943 COMPENSATING DEVICE FOR STEAM OR LIKE PIPINGS Emile Laufler, Hege, Belgium; vested in the Alien Property Custodian A pplication March 13, 1940, Serial No. 323,707

In Germany March 30, 1939 4 Claims. (Cl. 285-90) My invention relates to compensating devices for steam and like pipings of the kind in which are used telescopic sleeves movable into a diaphragm expansion body.

In the heretofore known devices of this kind, the diaphragm member having the smallest resistance absorbs the most important part oi. deformation so that the permissible stress being exceeded it is thus submitted to a strain which produces its untimely breaking.

My improved device is so arranged and constructed that the diaphragm members having the form of spirals or disks are limited in their displacement underthe action of the steam or the like to a predetermined value so as not to exceed the elastic limit of the metal of the diaphragm expansion body to ensure a long durability to the compensating device.

The invention consists in the features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawing illustrating the invention, Figures 1 and 2 are sectional views of the device respectively at rest and in working position; Figure 3 in a cross-section on line A-B of Fig. 1, and Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view of the diaphragm expansion body showing the position of its supporting members upon the telescopic tube terminating the steam or like piping.

In the figures, i indicates a telescopic tube bolted on one end section of the steam piping involved and mounted slidably into a suitable sleeve 2 secured to the other end section of said piping. The sleeve 2 is-extended concentrically to the tube i by a cover 8 forming around the latter an annular chamber 3.

The tube 3 is provided externally with longitudinal grooves 5 along which are moveable supporting members E3, 7, having the form of shoes, cams or the like, and disposed jointly at rest, as shown in Fig. 1. The member l is stationary, being fixed to a ring 8 secured to the tube i.

Within the chamber ii and around the members G, l, is helically rolled a diaphragm body 9, consisting of a plurality of metallic spirals or disks, which are welded together at their external periphery, as shown at 9'. One end of the diaphragm body 9 is secured to the ring 8 of the tube i and the other end is secured directly to the cover 3 thus closing the chamber 8.

As illustrated, two spirals out of three of the diaphragm body 9 are here connected to the members 5, l by embracing by their inner curvature bosses 6' of corresponding shape surmounting the members 6, i.

The members 6, I supporting thus the spirals of the expansion body 8 are staggered to one another in the adjacent grooves 5, as shown in Fig. 4, so as to form an unbroken chain in said body and to render all the spirals dependent from one another.

As. may be seen in the drawing, the chamber 4 is in communication with the steam piping by means of the play I0 existing between the tube 'i and the sleeve 2, and the inner face of the diaphragm body is submitted to the action of the atmospheric pressure through the grooves 5 of the tube I.

It is obvious, therefore, that when the steam penetrates into the chamber 3, it acts laterally on the spirals of the diaphragm body. Under this pressure, the spirals tend to be opened towards the centre by displacing thus successively the members 6. The latter limit the displacement of each spiral in both directions-to a maximum predeterminated displacement, so as not to exceed the elastic limit of the metal of the diaphragm body. The said displacement being made, the spiral movement is stopped through the supporting members 6 which force the adjacent spiral to eiTect the displacement imputed to same, and so on, until the total travel imputed to the compensating device is made. (Fig. 2.)

Now when the action of the steam has ceased the spirals return to their primitive position without difficulty and the play, which was formed between the successive supporting members 6, i, is then reabsorbed.

, It will be understood that changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 4, the members 6, i may be arranged for example so as to reabsorb the displacement of the spirals or disks by means, of links.

What is-claimed is:

In a compensating devicefor steam piping and the like, having a sleeve member connected at one end to a portion of the piping and a telescoping tube connected at one end to another portion of said piping and slidably extending into said sleeve member, the combination with a hollow expansible tube peripherally corrugated between the ends thereof and having said ends respectively secured within said sleeve member to the other or extreme ends of the sleeve and telescoping tube, of a plurality of supporting means slidably mounted upon the exterior surface of said telescoping tube within the interior of said hollow expansible tube and each engaging inte riorly with a plurality of the corrugations of said expansible tube so as to limit expansion of the inner portions of said corrugations thereof along the telescoping tube to a predetermined degree.

2. A compensating device according to claim 1, having a plurality of groove portions longitudinally disposed along the exterior of the telescoping tube, and spaced apart about the latter, and supporting members constituting the supporting means mounted to slide in said groove portions and having spaced radially directed projections engaging interiorly in spaced corrugations of the expansible tube so as to limit excessive expansion of the inner convolutions thereof along said telescoping tube.

3. A compensating device according to claim 1, having a plurality of groove portions longitudinally disposed along the exterior of the telescoping tube, and spaced apart about the latter, and supporting members constituting the supporting means mounted to slide in said groove portions and having spaced radially directed projections engaging interiorly in spaced corrugations oi the expansible tube so as to limit excessive expansion of the inner convolutions thereof along said telescoping tube, the expansible corrugated tube having the corrugations disposed helically and the mutually adjacent supporting members in the groove portions about the telescoping tube being staggered with respect to each other.

4. A compensating device according to claim 1, having a plurality of groove portions longitudinally disposed along the exterior of the telescoping tube, and spaced apart about the latter, and a plurality of supporting members constituting the supporting means mounted to slide in each of said groove portions and having spaced radially directed projections engaging interiorly in spaced corrugations of the expansible tube so as to limit excessive expansion of the inner convolutions thereof along said telescoping tube.

EMILE LAUFFER. 

